The present invention generally relates to seat cushions and, more particularly, to portable seat cushions for bleacher seats.
Bleacher seats or stadium benches are commonly found at outdoor and indoor sports arenas, fields, gymnasiums, swimming pools, and similar spectator facilities. The bleacher seats typically include beams of a hard material such as wood, aluminum, or rigid plastic for reasons of durability, maintenance, and cost. These hard materials, however, can cause discomfort to a viewer and detract from the viewer's enjoyment of the event, particularly, when these events last for several hours or more. This discomfort is especially a problem when no back rests are provided. Additionally, when the seats are made of aluminum, the seats conduct heat away from the spectator's body.
Many spectators attempt to alleviate this discomfort by sitting on various, blankets, pads, or cushions. The items however, easily fall to the ground, through the open bleacher, when the spectator stands or leaves the bleacher. This causes some spectators to tie or tape the items to the bleacher seats. Additionally, attempts have been made to design seat cushions specifically for stadium seats which are secured by various belts and buckles, tie-straps, levers, and such. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,545,840, 2,715,435, and 2,865,433. While these seat cushions may provide suitable cushioned support and may be secured to the seats, they are not easily and quickly attached and removed from the seats and are relatively expensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a portable seat cushion which provides cushion-type support, is not easily pulled from the bleacher by movement of the user, insulates the user from the bleacher seat, is attachable to a bleacher seat, is easily securable and removable, does not require modification to the bleacher, is water resistant, is lightweight and easy to carry, and is inexpensive to produce or manufacture.